• Jarell Broxton's fast start: The BC Lions tackle has got off to a marvelous start to the 2023 season. Entering Week 4, he ranks seventh among all CFL offensive linemen in run-blocking grade (75.0) and 11th in pass-blocking (73.1) grade.
• Winnipeg slide one spot: Week 3 was far from a banner game for this Bombers group, as all five starters allowed at least two pressures. Outside of Stanley Bryant’s 60.2 pass-blocking grade, no one earned a grade above 50.0.
• An emerging award winner? Montreal's Landon Rice is emerging as a candidate for the CFL's Most Outstanding Lineman award. This season, he ranks first among qualifying tackles in pass-blocking grade (76.0), run-blocking grade (84.3) and overall grade (84.3).
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Few things are more important to a team’s success than the quality of its offensive line. Disastrous lines, or even disastrous weak-link mismatches, can determine the outcome of games, while strong units give an incredible advantage to an offense.
This CFL season, we will be keeping track of PFF’s offensive line rankings as well as highlighting the biggest weak-link player and their upcoming opponent to identify any obvious matchup advantage one way or the other.
Key:
Red text = weakest link
1. British Columbia Lions (No Change)
LT Jarell Broxton
LG Andrew Peirson
C Michael Couture
RG Sukh Chungh
RT Kent Perkins
• It was a tough week for the Lions. Couture, Peirson and Chungh each finished with pass-blocking grades below 45.0, with the three allowing a combined nine pressures across 35 passing plays.
• Broxton has got off to a marvelous start to the 2023 season. Entering Week 4, he ranks seventh among all CFL offensive linemen in run-blocking grade (75.0) and 11th in pass-blocking (73.1) grade.
Upcoming Week: Toronto Argonauts
• Last week, Dewayne Hendrix stood out in his first game of the season, earning an 89.4 pass-rushing grade. His performance included two sacks, one hit, four hurries and two more pass-rush wins.
2. Saskatchewan Roughriders (Up 1)
LT Logan Ferland
LG Evan Johnson
C Peter Godber
RG Logan Bandy
RT Colin Kelly
• The Roughriders started two new tackles this week, and they had two very different games. New right tackle Collin Kelly is a big reason for the move up, as he didn't allow a single pressure across 35 passing plays. He earned a 76.9 pass-blocking grade, the second-best mark at his position in Week 3.
• New left tackle Jerald Hawkins struggled in his first start of the year posting a 0.0 pass-blocking grade before going down with an injury. Logan Ferland stepped in to finish the game at left tackle, but he allowed a sack, a hit and a hurry for a 39.1 pass-blocking grade.
Upcoming Week: BYE
3. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Down 1)
LT Stanley Bryant
LG Geoff Gray
C Chris Kolankowski
RG Patrick Neufeld
RT Jermarcus Hardrick
• Week 3 was far from a banner game for this group, as all five starters allowed at least two pressures. Outside of Bryant’s 60.2 pass-blocking grade, no one graded above 50.0.
• A concerning trend is starting to appear, as this unit's pass- and run-blocking grades have gotten worse each week.
Upcoming Week: Montreal Alouettes
• An excellent group of pass-rushers leads this Montreal defense. The Alouettes have four of the top 12 defensive players in terms of pass-rush win rate in Nick Heninger, Tyrice Beverette, Mustafa Johnson and Avery Ellis.
4. Montreal Alouettes (No Change)
LT Nick Callender
LG Pier-Olivier Lestage
C Justin Lawrence
RG Kristian Matte
RT Landon Rice
• Rice is emerging as a candidate for the CFL's Most Outstanding Lineman award. This season, he ranks first among qualifying tackles in pass-blocking grade (76.0), run-blocking grade (84.3) and overall grade (84.3).
• Callender removed himself as the weakest link of the group with a bounce-back game that saw him earn a 78.7 pass-blocking grade and allow just one hurry across 29 snaps.
• Lawrence now gets the unfortunate distinction, as he has yet to earn a single-game pass-blocking grade above 60.0.
Upcoming Week: Winnipeg Blue Bombers
• Winnipeg was the first defense to get through the Lions' offensive line. Last week against the top offensive line in the CFL, the Bombers defense notched a 64.1% pass-rush win rate and a 40.0% pressure rate, first and second, respectively, in the CFL.
5. Toronto Argonauts (No Change)
LT Isaiah Cage
LG Ryan Hunter
C Peter Nicastro
RG Dylan Giffen
RT Dejon Allen
• New starting right guard Dylan Giffen is by far and away the best run-blocker in the CFL. Over his one start and some spot snaps in Week 2, he has earned a 90.7 run-blocking grade.
• Hunter is still highlighted as the group's weakest link, but that is mainly because of his poor performance in Week 2. This past week, Hunter earned a team-high 85.3 pass-blocking grade and a respectable 69.1 run-blocking grade. If he can find consistency, he’d no longer be a weak link in what could be a rising offensive line.
Upcoming Week: British Columbia Lions
• The Lions continue to lead the league in pass-rush grade (78.4). They have the third-best pressure rate (36.5%) and top-ranked pass-rush win rate (55.4%).
6. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (No Change)
LT Brandon Kemp
LG Brandon Revenberg
C David Beard
RG Chris Van Zeyl
RT Brandon Kemp
• The rotation at right guard continues for the Tiger-Cats. Rookie Dayton Black was pulled in favor of CFL veteran Chris Van Zeyl at the end of the second quarter. If Van Zeyl performs as he did in this game, I expect the rotation to continue, as he earned a 13.3 pass-blocking grade across 35 pass-blocking snaps.
• The left side of this offensive line had its best week of the season this week. Kemp and Revenberg both posted a 70.0 pass-blocking grade. Combined, they allowed five pressures across 54 snaps.
• David Beard is the star of this group, as he just earned his third straight 75.0-plus pass-blocking grade. For the season, he's allowed just two pressures over 134 snaps.
Upcoming Week: BYE
7. Calgary Stampeders (No Change)
LT D’Antne Demery
LG Zack Williams
C Sean McEwen
RG Ryan Sceviour
RT Caleb Benenoch
• It was an average week for the Calgary offensive line. As a unit, they gave up zero sacks, two hits and seven hurries on 41 pass-blocking snaps.
• Beneoch struggled again, earning a 34.1 pass-blocking grade and a 55.9 run-blocking grade.
• D’Antne Demery was the worst run-blocker in the CFL last week, as he put up a 37.6 grade over his 20 run-blocking snaps.
Upcoming Week: BYE
8. Edmonton Elks (No Change)
LT Andrew Garnett
LG David Foucault
C Mark Korte
RG Tomas Jack-Kurdyla
RT Josiah St. John
• The potential Josiah St. John showed in Week 2 quickly faded away. He played 39 pass-blocking snaps in Week 3, giving up a sack, a hit and five hurries. He lost a further three pass-blocking reps to finish the week with a 9.3 pass-blocking grade, by far the worst mark among tackles in Week 3.
• The running game still needs significant improvement. The Elks do not have an offensive lineman with a run-blocking grade above 57.0, and their top run-blocker ranks 41st among all CFL offensive linemen.
Upcoming Week: Ottawa Redblacks
• The Redblacks' defensive front is sinking to the bottom of the CFL. Through three weeks of action, they have a league-worst 64.1 pass-rush grade. They rank eighth in pass-rush win rate (30.2%) and fifth in pressure rate (32.8%).
9. Ottawa Redblacks (No Change)
LT Dino Boyd
LG Drew Desjarlais
C Cyrille Hogan-Saindon
RG Jacob Ruby
RT Zack Pelehos
• No change for the idle Redblacks this week. Hopefully, the bye week helped the group clean up the areas of their game that needed work.
Upcoming Week: Edmonton Elks
• The Elks field the worst defense in the CFL, as they rank eighth in yards allowed per rush (4.7) and dead last in pressure rate (19.2%) and pass-rush win rate (26.0%).
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